The Snake, the Flower, and the Tiger - Chapter 77

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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77

Go Yeom blinked his large eyes and let out an awkward cough.
“Well, I suppose so? Sure. That could be right. Our Hee-seo does tend to have pretty firm convictions. I mean, not just firm convictions—her fists are firm too, very—. If she’d been born in the old days, she’d have made a fine independence fighter.”
Go Yeom absently rubbed his back, which had taken more than its share of hits from Hee-seo, and mumbled to himself. He’d tried not to notice, but unfortunately he’d learned early on just how talented she was.
“Anyway, I wasn’t trying to be a smartass about any of this. It’s this.”
With an oddly urgent air, Go Yeom pressed a small, round Fortune Pouch made of quilted fabric into Kim Je-eon’s hands.
When Kim Je-eon eyed it suspiciously, Go Yeom suddenly crossed his arms and shoved it straight into his jacket without warning.
Kim Je-eon tried to hide his bewilderment at such a mannered gesture and ran his fingers over his suddenly bulkier jacket.
“Wait, sir. What is this?”
“Just keep it. It’ll all be useful, trust me. I stayed up until the crack of dawn preparing this with real dedication.”
“Is it… something like a Talisman?”
“A Talisman? How would I use something like that?”
At Kim Je-eon’s question, Go Yeom’s eyes widened in shock, as if he’d been struck. Then he flapped both hands frantically, correcting the misunderstanding. There was something almost purposeful, even determined, in the way he did it.
“Jesus would be angry with me if I used something like that. What this is—I’ve written down our Church Youth Group meeting schedule, the address, even the donation account number. Don’t tell Hee-seo about this, but when you get a chance later, please listen to me once. Got it? Actually, just contact me instead. We’re going to be in touch anyway, right?”
…….
Kim Je-eon finally lost the thread of the conversation and fell silent. Only then could he understand Hee-seo’s warning.

—If you mix words with Uncle, you either become an idiot or Go Yeom. One or the other. Be careful.

Watching Go Yeom glare at the world with gleaming eyes, devoted to his missionary work, Kim Je-eon reflected.
An idiot or Go Yeom. He’d never be able to choose which was better for the rest of his life.

***

After Hee-seo performed the shamanic ritual, Ah-seon’s health had deteriorated further, so Hee-seo’s face remained dark throughout the descent from the mountain. But soon enough, in a flat voice, she spoke to Kim Je-eon, who sat in the driver’s seat.
“Grandmother came looking for you this morning, I heard.”
When they’d asked the nun for help moving the car they’d left midway up the mountain to the temple proper, the sun was rising.
The person waiting for Kim Je-eon as he stepped out of the car was none other than Ah-seon. With a dazed look in her eyes, she handed him something.
“Yes. She gave me this.”
Kim Je-eon hooked the Necklace hidden beneath his shirt onto his finger and showed it to her. The pendant hanging from the silver chain was a rough, unpolished stone—black and murky in color.
It was utterly at odds with Kim Je-eon’s striking appearance, but Hee-seo recognized it at once and caught her breath.
“…That Necklace is made of Iron Meteorite.”
“Iron Meteorite means iron that’s fallen from a meteor, right?”
“Exactly. I never imagined Grandmother would own something like that.”
Hee-seo made no effort to hide her surprise, glancing repeatedly at the pendant hanging around Kim Je-eon’s neck.
Seeing her fascination, Kim Je-eon didn’t hesitate—he pulled the car over and moved to unfasten the clasp to hand it to her. But Hee-seo stopped him at once.
“No. I don’t need this.”
“But it seems precious.”
“It is precious. If anyone who knows what it is sees it, they’ll absolutely covet it. This is a treasure that makes whoever wears it an untouchable space. It doesn’t just ward off spirits—it can also block disease and malevolence. According to the lore passed down, it supposedly even extends one’s lifespan.”
At Hee-seo’s words, tinged with admiration, Kim Je-eon unfastened the clasp without hesitation and offered it to her. But when Hee-seo took it, she didn’t put it on—instead, she stared at him intently.
“Didn’t you hear what I said? It extends lifespan, they say.”
“I heard.”
“Then why are you giving it to me?”
“Because if it’s so precious, it would be more necessary for you than for me.”
At Kim Je-eon’s plain sincerity, Hee-seo fell silent for a moment. Then, as she tried to fasten the Necklace around her neck for him, Hee-seo sharply knocked his hand away.
With a sharp sound, a chill settled over the car’s interior.
“This is what Grandmother gave you, for you.”
In that instant, Hee-seo’s demeanor turned bitterly cold, and Kim Je-eon was caught off guard. Could she really be angry because such a precious thing had been given to him rather than to her?
But it was Ah-seon who had approached him first and handed over the Necklace, and Kim Je-eon had simply received it without proper explanation.
“If I’ve upset you, I’m sorry. But I wanted it this way because I hope you don’t get hurt, Hee-seo. Besides, your body has grown quite weak right now.”
He’d pushed hard to bring the car up to the temple in the first place because of her.
Even after Ah-seon had squeezed out her last strength to perform the ritual, the Extreme Malevolence that had struck Hee-seo hadn’t completely vanished.
As a result, Hee-seo had been falling into sleep several times a day as if fainting, the Extreme Malevolence taking its toll. Go Yeom had explained that her sleep was an Immune Response—her body’s way of protecting itself.
“This is useless to me. I was already born with Divine Nature, and wearing this Necklace would only suppress the energy I carry. Besides, my body will recover quickly, so don’t worry about it.”
Despite her explanation, Hee-seo’s manner remained distant and cold.
If it wasn’t the act of receiving the Necklace from Ah-seon that had angered her, then what on earth had made her suddenly turn so icy?
Kim Je-eon killed the engine completely and turned to face his passenger.
“Hee-seo.”
“What are you doing? We’re not leaving?”
“If I’ve done something to upset you, please tell me. I don’t want to hurt your feelings and then pretend nothing happened. So if I made a mistake, tell me.”
Kim Je-eon held the necklace in one hand while gently wrapping the other around hers. The thinness of Hee-seo’s hand, worn down over these past few days, ached in his chest.
“Hah…….”
It would be easier if he’d just stayed shameless like before.
Hee-seo, who had been glaring at the side mirror through the window, bit her lip.
Somewhere along the way, his gaze, his voice, his words had become a weight she couldn’t ignore—pressing down on her with inescapable force.
Hee-seo looked at his hand—held so gently, afraid she might shatter—and finally spoke.
“Don’t act like your life means nothing.”
“…….”
Hee-seo took a deep breath to swallow the anger rising in her throat. She was furious at how easily his words shook her, but what she couldn’t bear most was that he didn’t seem to understand what was wrong—that very blindness in him.
“There’s no such thing as a life worth more than another’s. The weight of a life is equal. Rich or poor, everyone stands equal before death. So why do you give up on preserving yours so easily? Because you wouldn’t mind dying right now?”
She knew her anger had come out of nowhere. But that wasn’t all—its target was misplaced.
Yet once released, her fury didn’t fade easily.
“You promised we’d see this through to the end. You said if you told me, if you really wanted to abandon that body, then I’d help you. So until that moment comes, don’t you dare be weak like this on your own terms. If you want to fall apart, ask my permission first. Until I say yes, don’t show me any cracks. Do you understand what I’m saying? Do you get what I mean?”
She asked if he understood partly because she herself didn’t fully grasp her own emotions.
Kim Je-eon’s indifference to life came from how he’d grown up, from what he’d been made into. He’d been denied existence itself and lived his entire life as a substitute. Hee-seo hadn’t dared to truly understand a life like that, and so her own anger felt cowardly to her.
Yet Kim Je-eon didn’t blame her.
“Hee-seo.”
“……Don’t say anything.”
When you pour out emotion, only the wreckage remains—shameful and bitter. Loving someone came with this sort of side effect. Unable to bear her own self-loathing, Hee-seo reached for her seatbelt to get out of the car.
But Kim Je-eon gripped her wrist firmly. Her gaze naturally settled on his captured wrist.
His long, steady fingers closed around her wrist and held fast. It was the first time he’d ever used strength this way.
“I will.”
“…….”
“I won’t show any cracks, like you said. So don’t go.”

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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